Wlad did what a fighter was supposed to do and win, however it does little for his credibility and legacy the fact that despite being much bigger, stronger, taller, heavier, more exp. fighter compared to Haye and despite Haye's trash talking, and Wlad promising for a knockout he basically won by default, simply by using his jab and the occasional right hand to keep the much smaller man at bay. This against an ex cruiser who was nearly KO'd by an ex Middle and KO'd by someone not even regarded as a puncher.

Said "ex cruiser" is as big as Ali and Holmes, so unless you count those out against Wlad on size alone, I don't see why he should be labeled as "ex cruiser".

Let's also not forget that Wlad was 35 when he shut out Haye. This is the same age that Ali lost to Neon Leon, Holmes to brother Spinks, Frazier was already retired, Tyson was past his best, Dempsey had long since retired, etc etc.

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Originally Posted by MadcapMaxie

Seeing such a timid and cagey performance against an opponent like Haye gives me little hope and reassurance that Wlad could hang in there with guys like Holmes, Bowe and Ali. Guys who had serious heart and grit who were willing to put themselves on the line in order to win. If Wlad fought like that against Haye how would he react to bulldozers like Tyson and Foreman or even a guy like Morrison?

I can reverse the argument - the fact that Bowe shipped 50+% of the opponents' punches, even against journeyman, doesn't give me much assurance. If Ali was nailing Foreman at will with right hands, how does George cope with someone who can box and actually packs a punch? Etc, etc. For the record, I'm not at all saying Wlad would definitely beat them. I'm just saying that you can make a good case for him, based on the same type of arguments you use for him losing.

Bottomline: there is no perfect fighter - they all have different weaknesses. Frazier could be outpunched, Ali could be out-pressured, Marciano could be outboxed, and Wlad can be knocked out. All of these are true yet these men have proven to be extremely difficult to beat. You won't ever see a B-2 take on a MiG-27 in a dogfight because it's not their modus operandi. For the same reason you won't see Wlad exchanging punches a la Gatti or see Frazier try to jab on his toes and outbox Ali.

When under heavy fire, warriors like Holyfield and Marciano have more reserves to tap into than Wlad. However, Wlad has more tools to avoid needing to tap into those reserves in the first place. Again: different fighters, different weaknesses.